Frozen: Elsa's Journey
by fbiguy
Summary: A year has passed since Elsa gained control of her powers, and the kingdom of Arendelle is enjoying a time of peace and prosperity. But when the forces of darkness threaten the land, it's up to Elsa, Anna and Kristoff to find out what's going on and to stop it. On this journey of self discovery, Elsa must learn what it means to be a ruler.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N Please read and review, I appreciate all feedback!**

The wind whistled through the northern mountains, bringing with it dark clouds and stinging sleet. The animals sought shelter from the deluge, and the trees creaked as they swayed back and forth. Not many people would choose to brave such a strong storm, but luckily it is only rarely that anyone ventures up into the mountain range. On this evening, however, one man and his horse caught out in the elements trudged onwards through the snow, sleet and cold. Justin Hone bowed his head towards the wind, one arm up shielding his eyes as his black hair was swept around his head.

"Just a bit further Nite!" he called down to his horse over the maelstrom of sound "There's a cave up ahead, I think!" Nite neighed, and Justin's left hand brought up a torch as he tried to see through the fog and sleet descending around them. The wind howled and the storm assailed his senses as he squinted; it did look as though there was an outline in stone wall of the mountain up ahead, but it was hard to be sure. They battled on, two steps forward and one step back as the wind intensified around them. After what felt like an eternity they finally reached the wall and found, well cave wasn't really the right word, Justin thought, it was enormous. Cavern suited it better, and while he felt a little uneasy about strolling into an unknown cavern with only a torch and a horse, it sure beat staying out in that storm.

He dismounted Nite and, still fighting the wind, they both staggered inside. The noise of the storm echoed around the walls of the cavern, louder in the confined space, but they were out of the wind and weren't getting drenched anymore. Overall that was a net plus in his mind. Beside him, Nite whinnied and hoofed at the ground. "I know buddy, I don't like it in here either" Justin agreed "But we don't have much of a choice, look at that!" he turned and surveyed the outside, or tried too. The storm had grown still stronger and now Justin could hardly see 20 feet, and somehow the wind seemed even louder. "We're just going to have to wait this one out." He concluded glumly, and tossed his messenger bag on the ground. After all, people preferred late deliveries when compared to their mail being drenched and destroyed by a storm, and Justin preferred not to get soaked in said storm, the two dove tailed rather nicely. He did pride himself in being the fastest messenger of Arendelle though, so the thought of making late deliveries was enough to make him grimace with distaste. Sighing, he dropped his torch and sat down against a wall, prepared to wait out the storm with Nite. Before long, his eyelids began drooping as exhaustion overtook him.

_He dreamed he was running. Darkness was all around him and he couldn't make out anything, he just knew he had to keep going. The insubstantial shadows danced around him, and Justin thought he heard faint whispers from the gloom, but there was no time for that now, he had to keep going. Onwards he forged, trying to remember the reason for his hectic flight, with no avail. Finally the shadows thinned, and he breathed a sigh of relief. He had made it. He saw that he had arrived back home to Arendelle, excellent, he could use a rest after that harsh journey. But something was wrong, and he peered through the darkness surrounding him at the city laid sprawling before him. Justin gasped, the city was aflame. The buildings burned and smoke rose into the sky in thick black clouds. He had to help! He sprinted forward again but somehow made no progress towards the inferno enveloping his home. A dark laughter echoed up from the city and he heard a voice whisper _

_"If Arendelle falls, all hope will fade…" _

_He couldn't make out the rest, the fire was burning too loudly. He was yelling now, struggling with all his might to make it to the city before it was too late. He had to save it, to save the people and his home… Suddenly he felt himself falling, and the burning city rose up into the distance as he plummeted down… down…_

Thud. "Ow!" Justin had slid sideways off the wall he had been leaning against. With a groan he sat upright again and shuddered, trying to remember what he had been dreaming about. The harder he concentrated the faster it faded. It was like trying to fill a bucket that had a hole in the bottom. Something bad had happened, he thought, something I was trying to stop. A few minutes later he gave up, he couldn't remember anything about it at this point anyway. The uneasy feeling remained though, and he glanced outside. The storm had abated, just a light snow falling gently to the ground at this point. Nite trotted over and nudged him with a hoof, snapping him out of his reverie. Right! He still had deliveries, and lots of lost time to make up. He would have to ride faster than ever to catch up to schedule though. Justin smiled, he liked a challenge.

"You ready to ride boy?" He asked "Got a lot of time to catch up on." Nite reared in response, slamming the ground with a hoof as if to say _I was born ready!_ and he laughed.

Just as Justin swung a leg over Nite and pulled himself up, the darkness _shifted_. There was no other word for it, the shadows in the back of the cavern were sliding around, forming tendrils, beginning to reach out towards him and Nite, who skittered away nervously. There was now a faint whispering echoing around him, growing louder and louder as the tendrils snaked towards him. Some part of him knew that he could not let them reach him, but he was curious too. Holding up his torch he shouted "Who goes there? What do you want?"

The whispering noises intensified and smooth, dark voice replied "Come closer, Justin Hone, and I will show you." The voice trailed away, it seemed to have come from the darkness itself. Justin's uneasy feeling was quickly growing into fear, but he fought it down as he peered once more into the darkness spreading towards him slowly. It was hypnotizing, in a way, the shadows danced and swirled, getting ever closer…

There was a loud BOOM of thunder in the distance, and Justin snapped out of it. "Nite!" he yelled "run!" Spurred on by his rider, Nite tore towards the mouth of the cavern at a gallop, hooves echoing against the stone. The hissing noise behind him rose to a fever pitch and Justin turned to see a wall of seething darkness rushing up behind them. With a yell he swung his torch at the shadows, and the flames forced it to recede just for a moment before resuming its relentless pursuit. But it was enough, Nite burst from the mountain wall at full speed and didn't stop. The fresh snow on the ground made it impossible to see the path, but they didn't care, all they wanted was to get as far away from that cave as possible. Justin looked back once more, and was able to see the shadows recede slowly back into the mountain. He didn't slow the pace though; dodging trees left and right, the two continued their flight long after the danger was gone. _We must get to Arendelle with all speed _he thought frantically _I have to warn them! _Deliveries and strange dreams all but forgotten, the pair charged on through the twilight.

* * *

(**One week earlier**)

Queen Elsa of Arendelle stood on a high balcony of the Royal Palace, her long blonde hair was in a braid, and the ice blue dress flowing down around her was the exact same color as her eyes. She looked out across the city and smiled, it was a beautiful sight today: the morning sun was sparkling against the fjord and the warm summer air felt about as nice as any weather could. She took a deep breath, savoring the moment as she tried to quell her nervousness for the day ahead of her.

"Elsa!"

She turned to see Anna running towards her, smiling the big goofy smile she always wore when she was happy. "You excited for today?" she asked brightly.

"Of course" Elsa replied with a small smile and embraced her sister "Honestly I'm a little nervous too though."

"You've got nothing to worry about!" Anna exclaimed forcefully "It's the one year anniversary of your coronation." She made a sweeping gesture with her arm "People have the feast to look forward too, the ball, the dancing, the chocolate, and the ball! Wait, what? I said that one already, uh…" She paused to take a breath, and Elsa stepped in before Anna got started again

"Are you sure that's not just what you're looking forward too?" Elsa teased and prodded her sister with her elbow gently.

"Well of course I am! But so is everyone else, you'll see. Who doesn't like a good ball? You know we should really have more of these, make up for all the ones we didn't have when we were younger." She smiled up at her sister again "Really Elsa, it's going to be a great time."

"I know, but I'm still nervous, the coronation ball didn't exactly go as planned last year did it." As if to prove her point, she started manipulating a little ball of snowflakes between her hands. It was a new nervous habit of hers. She often didn't even realize she was doing it until she needed to use her hands for something, which had caused a few awkward handshakes in the past with foreign diplomats.

Anna winked at her cheerfully "No one holds that against you and you know it, anyway you put everything back to normal in no time! And now that we aren't dealing with those weasels in Weaseltown" she gestured again, this time victoriously "the people have been happier than ever!"

It was true, Elsa thought, over the past year Arendelle had been prosperous beyond all expectation, and any reservation the people may have had with their new queen vanished quickly. She knew that, and yet she still worried about tonight, it would be the largest party they had thrown since her coronation, and she wanted everything to go smoothly this time.

"You're right" she smiled at Anna and embraced her again "there's nothing to worry about, it'll be a great time."

"That's the spirit!" winking again, Anna continued "Maybe you'll find a guy tonight! Ow!" she was interrupted by the snowball that hit her face, and Elsa laughed, then oofed as Anna threw one back. Both laughing now, Elsa rolled her eyes at her sister. "Not everything is about boys, you know. Anyway, how would I even start that conversation?" She mimed walking up to someone "Hi, what's your name? Me? Oh I'm just the Queen, don't worry about it" she paused and looked at her sister "That'd be ridiculous!" They both laughed again.

"Am I missing out on something?" A new voice called out from behind them. Elsa turned to see a ruggedly handsome blond young man walking towards them, smiling slightly.

"Kristoff! You're back!" Anna ran into his waiting arms "how was the family doing?"

"They're as good as ever, Grand Pabbie says hello to you both" He released Anna and hugged Elsa too "Excited for today?"

"I think Anna has talked me into looking forward to it, even if I am still a bit nervous" Elsa laughed

"My girlfriend certainly does have a way with words, doesn't she" Kristoff said with another smile.

"It's an acquired skill, unfortunately one that neither of you possess." Anna drew herself up in an attempted regal pose "my words inspire the kingdom, I mean, inspire prosperity, uh, in the kingdom." Still standing in her ridiculous stance, she saw Kristoff making an admirable attempt at keeping a straight face.

"How can you compete with that display of royalty Elsa? She's in a league of her own"

"Oh she is, maybe you should prepare the royal speech for tonight Anna, you seem so enthusiastic about it!" Elsa said with a grin.

"No thanks, you can keep the boring queen stuff, but I'll be there for, uh, moral support?" She laughed again "But really Elsa, it's going to go great and you're going to have a fun time, you'll see."

"I'm sure you're right." Elsa replied with another smile. There was a lull in the conversation as all three of them paused to take in the breathtaking view from the balcony. It was nearly a cloudless day, and the ships in the fjord sailed with hardly a ripple across the glass like surface of the water. Elsa felt Anna put her arm around her waist as she and Kristoff stepped up next to her. The three of them stood, connected to each other by more than just physical sensation. They had been through a lot together, Elsa reflected. Had it really been a year already since the gates had opened? She could hardly believe it, time was going so quickly now. She had spent a lot of that time with Anna, making up for the lost years of their childhood together. That meant she saw quite a lot of Kristoff too, and the two of them had become close friends as well. She glanced over at him, he was staring out across the fjord, one arm around Anna, and in his other hand…

"What's that you've got there, Kristoff?" asked Elsa curiously. It looked like a long wooden stick, but much smoother and fairly thin.

"This?" he held it up "it's a quarter staff, one of the guards has been giving me sparing lessons, it's been really fun, ever since I stopped travelling as much I've been looking for a productive way to spend my time." He gave it a twirl and planted it between his feet.

"He's been trying to get me into it" Anna pitched in "but I've always been more into archery. Back before, well before there was much to do around here, I uh, sometimes snuck down to the archery range and practiced. Took me forever to get any good at it." She laughed.

Kristoff nudged her "It might have gone a bit quicker if you'd ever asked anyone for help, you know"

"Where's the fun in that? It's all about the challenge! Besides, uh, I'm still pretty sure I wasn't supposed to be sneaking around the guard's supply of arrows…"

"That was you?" Elsa said, surprised "I remember hearing Kai mention that we kept running out. I never knew you were into archery."

"Yeah I feel kind of bad about it now" Anna said sheepishly "But I had to find some way to pass the time after all, I mean…" She trailed off.

Before last year, Elsa had separated herself from Anna out of fear of harming her with her powers; a fear that had very nearly become reality almost exactly one year ago, today. She thought back, how lonely must Anna have been. It had been bad enough for herself, but she hadn't known any other way to protect her sister.

"I know, and I'm sorry" Elsa said quietly.

"No, no that's not what I meant!" Anna said quickly "We've been over this Elsa, I understand now, so it's OK. We've got all the time in the world to make up for it!" She grinned at her sister "Do you want to build a snowman?"

Elsa smirked back "You bet I do, come on Kristoff!" Kristoff rolled his eyes, grinning too, as he was pulled inside by the giggling sisters.

* * *

Elsa had spent days painstakingly creating the decorations for the feast. Large ice sculptures glittered in the corners of the Great Hall, and a huge frozen chandelier sparkled in the center of the room. Pillars of ice stretched up to the ceiling, and snowflakes hung suspended in the air above the dance floor, presenting the illusion of a light flurry.

"It's beautiful, Elsa" Kristoff said, impressed, as they entered the room "You've really outdone yourself."

"No kidding!" Anna was equally impressed, but less composed. She ran over to the nearest sculpture, a depiction of the Royal Palace itself. "How long did these take you sis?"

"Thank you both" Elsa said gratefully "I've been working on these for almost a week. Honestly it was really fun." Elsa derived great joy from using her powers, and there wasn't always an appropriate opportunity. She had jumped at the chance when it had been suggested to her that she and create the décor, and had spent every spare moment working to perfect them. She was quite proud of her work.

Actually, looking at these now was making her feel better about the ball, maybe it would be a fun time after all, she thought.

"Oh Anna, I almost forgot!" cried Kristoff "Elsa, I'm going to borrow Anna for a bit, I have something I need to show her."

"Of course, I'll see you both at the ball tonight." She grinned as they ran off together, and then headed off to make the final preparations.

Kristoff pulled Anna through the palace, down passages, up stairways, and, after narrowly avoiding a full speed collision with a pair of guardsman, they arrived together at the door to the room Kristoff stayed in when he was in the Palace.

"What is it?" Anna asked, a little breathless after their sprint.

In response, he opened the door and gestured to the beautiful green summer dress hanging in the middle of the room. "I got this for you when I was in town a few weeks ago, we haven't quite been together for a year yet, but I thought you'd appreciate it if I gave my gift to you in time for tonight." He smiled down at her.

Anna was giddy with happiness "I love it, Kristoff!" She embraced him tightly, and kissed him "Wait out here; I'm going to try it on!"

A few minutes later the door burst open again and Anna hopped out into the hall. "Well?" she said "What do you think?" she spun around slowly, so he could see the entire garment.

"It's beautiful!" He exclaimed "I mean, uh, rugged mountain men aren't the best judges of fashion, but even I can tell that looks amazing on you, Anna."

She grinned up at him, the green dress complementing her fiery hair wonderfully, and simply said "You're the best."

"I'm glad you like it." He replied, and then "I need to run down and check on Sven, make sure he's doing Ok in the stables."

"Didn't you just _ride_ here on him?" Anna said, exasperatedly.

"Yeah well, he gets lonely without me! Don't you have to start getting ready for this evening?"

Anna glanced at the clock and made a small yelping sound "You're right, I'm running late already!" She started running off down the hall to her room "See you at the ball!"

"Bye!" He called after her. Smiling and shaking his head at his girlfriend's antics, he headed down to the stables.

* * *

"Sven!" Kristoff called as he walked into the Royal Stables, bag of carrots in hand "I've got some carrots for you buddy!" Sven the Reindeer perked up at this and trotted over to his best friend happily, and Kristoff held one out and let him take a big bite. As Sven cheerfully chewed away, he took a bite of the rest, as was their tradition.

Sven looked up at him and cocked his head a bit. "Yes, she loved the dress Sven" he said with a smile. Even if his Reindeer couldn't talk, they'd been together so long Kristoff always knew what his friend was thinking, and more often than not he acted out Sven's part of their conversations with his own voice. "And she's wearing it to the dance tonight!"

Sven rolled his eyes, and Kristoff spoke for him in the comical voice he thought was fitting for his best friend "But I thought you didn't like dances and people, Kristoff, what're you doing up in the Royal Palace again?"

"You know Sven, when you're dating the princess, your perspective changes quite a bit." He laughed, "And you know how much Anna loves these events, so even if they're not my favorite thing in the world it's worth it to see her be so happy. But hey, tomorrow we can go riding together, you and me, what do you say to that?"

Sven nodded excitedly "That sounds wonderful, Kristoff, I can't wait either!" Kristoff imitated, and Sven pointedly looked at the door "But shouldn't you be going back up to the Palace to get ready for tonight?" Kristoff sighed inwardly; somehow in all of their conversations, Sven was always right. It didn't make all that much sense to him, because he was doing all the talking for the reindeer, but that didn't change the fact that most of the time they disagreed, it was Sven who won out. Kristoff thought back to the time he had almost walked away from Arendelle after delivering Anna, on the brink of death, to see Hans. It had been Sven who had convinced him to accept how he had felt about the princess, and as soon as he'd seen the storm on the fjord, he'd known what he'd had to do.

On the wild ride back, wind and snow had pelted both of them, but Sven had kept going. Even after the ice started cracking under them he had thrown Kristoff to safety, so he could reach Anna. Of course, it turned out that she was able to save herself in the end by saving her sister from the power hungry prince of the Southern Isles, but he had just been happy Anna was alive. The memory of the moments he had believed her to be dead still haunted him every once in a while, and thinking of it now, he shuddered slightly. But because of Sven he had made it in time to see her frozen heart thaw, followed by the entire kingdom as Elsa finally gained control over her powers. Then had come the immensely satisfying moment of Anna punching Hans into the fjord, followed by Kristoff dragging him to a jail cell, that _had _felt good.

Sven nudged him in the arm, snapping him out of his memories. Kristoff glanced out the window, then back at Sven "Gotta head back up to get ready Sven, the ball is starting soon and Anna would _kill _me if I were late!" And he bolted from the room, leaving the reindeer to munch happily away on his carrots.

As the sun set on Arendelle, people filtered through the open gates of the Palace, and excited murmuring permeated the air. Everyone was looking forward to the party, and as Kristoff wove through the crowd up the path towards the entrance, he realized he was really looking forward to it too. Maybe Anna _was _changing him into a bit more of a people person, or maybe those ice sculptures Elsa had made were so magnificent he could stand there and admire them all day. Probably both.

**A/N What do you think? This is my first fan fic, and I'm open to advice. Please take the time to review!**


	2. Chapter 2

The Darkness stirred in the recesses of the mountain cavern. The entity within was somewhat disappointed that the lone rider had escaped its clutches, but it mattered not. Soon enough, the entire land would be consumed. The kingdom of Arendelle was all that stood between it and the southern lands beyond, lands filled with light and warmth, waiting to be corrupted once more. But even at this distance, it could feel the magic emanating from the kingdom. There was a powerful force there, one that it dared not confront yet. The Darkness was not strong enough yet, after all, but it was slowly growing more so with each passing day.

The creature cast its thoughts back a year ago, to when it had awoken from its long slumber. An enormous burst of magic, powerful enough to cover the land in ice, had pulsed through the mountain, penetrating the deep reaches of the earth. It had been confused and weak at first, but slowly the memories surfaced. The Ancient Ones had locked it away and cursed it into an eternal sleep, so it would never threaten the world again. It supposed they had succeeded somewhat, but nothing, _nothing _could keep a force such as itself locked away forever.

So it bided its time as it gathered strength once more. It had waited almost a thousand years, it could wait a little while longer.

* * *

(One Week Earlier)

Elsa paced back and forth in her room, mentally rehearsing the speech she had prepared. She was nervous: this would be the first real royal speech she had given. In Arendelle it was expected for the ruler to address her subjects at the ceremony celebrating the anniversary of her coronation, and she had spent many days practicing for the occasion. Nevertheless, she wasn't sure how it was going to go once she was actually standing in front of everyone. The last time she had faced the crowd of her subjects, she had run away and frozen the entire kingdom.

At least, she thought wryly, it would be almost impossible for this event to go _worse_.

She stopped in front of a mirror to examine herself, brushing away imaginary wrinkles in her dress. The face that looked back at her was anxious, and she forced a smile. It didn't feel quite genuine, but it was as close as she was going to get. Her stomach was knotted tightly, ever since her coronation there hadn't been all that much for her to attend to as Queen: things were running smoothly without her intervention. As much as she was glad her people were happy, Elsa fretted about her ability to make the proper decisions for the kingdom when the time came.

She took a deep breath. "Get ahold of yourself" she muttered under her breath "It's just a speech, you're not deciding the fate of Arendelle tonight." Some excuse for a Queen she was, she thought, I can't even face the people of my kingdom long enough to welcome them to a party. She sighed and sat down on the edge of her bed, staring at the floor as she traced a trail of snowflakes through the air with her fingers. If only mastering her powers had taught her how to rule, as well.

A soft knock drifted in from the door behind her, a 5 beat pattern she knew all too well from her years of isolation. The years of loneliness and fear of herself that had thankfully ended.

"Come in, Anna" she called, and turned around as the door open.

Her sister stood outside smiling at her. "You don't have any idea how happy it makes me to hear you say that, still." She walked inside "We should head down to the Great Hall soon, it's almost time. What do you think?" She gestured down at the green dress she was wearing.

"Oh it's wonderful!" Elsa walked over to examine it "Kristoff got it for you?" After Anna nodded her ascent, she continued with a smile of her own "who knew he had such good taste, maybe he should give _me _some fashion tips."

Anna laughed "Maybe, but I'm not sure how he could help, you're the only one who can make your clothes out of ice."

"Oh, right."

There was a brief silence. "Hey" Elsa looked up at her sisters voice "No need to worry Elsa, you've just got to believe in yourself and it'll go well."

"Thanks, Anna, but I've never been good in front of crowds. I'll do my best though." She glanced at the clock, it was a little early but the waiting was starting to get to her "Let's go down, we have to be there to welcome people as they come in, where's Kristoff?"

"He's either getting ready, or in the stables with Sven trying to avoid having to greet everyone." Anna rolled her eyes "I'll go make sure he gets there on time, see you there?"

"See you there." Elsa confirmed, and watched her leave the room at a jog. Where her sister got all of her energy from, she would never know. When they were kids, Anna had _always_ been running around the halls, jumping, dancing, and just being hyper in general. She had become a bit more controlled in the year since they had opened up the gates, probably thanks to Kristoff, but she still seemed to have boundless energy and confidence.

Actually, Elsa reflected as she made her way downstairs, maybe Anna was so energetic because she spent all morning asleep unless someone repeatedly banged on her door. The thought made her grin, and the tension inside her eased somewhat.

She entered the Great Hall a few minutes before the doors were due to open, and positioned herself by them in preparation to greet her guests. As she waited, she glanced around the room, checking one final time that everything was in order. It was, and she had to admit to herself that she had done a good job on that front, at least. The decorations were sparkling, the dance floor gleamed, and the tables were laden with delicious food. Now all that was left was to wait for the people. She was turning back to the door just as Kristoff made his way towards her from the other end of the hall. "Glad I made it on time." He said, brushing his hair to the side in a last ditch effort to make it look like he'd spent more than 5 minutes making himself presentable. "Where's Anna?"

Elsa stifled a laugh "She told me she went off to look for you."

"We must've just missed each other." He grinned at her "She can't make fun of me for not showing up on time to these things anymore though. Here she is! Just in time."

Elsa turned to see Anna running up to them. "Glad you could make it" teased Kristoff, "I was wondering if I was going to have to come and get you."

"Oh? Remind me how many times you've been late to these events, Mr. holier than thou" she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Me? I'm always fashionably late" he nudged her "it's just part of my charm, dontcha know."

At that, Anna quirked an eyebrow "Oh? You call sleeping through half the winter formal being fashionably late?"

Kristoff shrugged as if to say _what can you do? _"Well…"

He was interrupted by the creak of the large wooden doors, and Elsa put a smile on her face as people began walking in. She shook hands, exchanged pleasantries, and welcomed everyone individually. This she didn't mind. She enjoyed speaking with the people of her kingdom, and even now, reveled in her ability to shake a hand without the fear of freezing it. At that thought her smile grew a bit, and she let herself enjoy the occasion for the time being.

* * *

Anna stood in between Elsa and Kristoff, smiling and greeting everyone who entered. After so many years of the gates being closed, she still wasn't quite used to the clamor of people pouring inside, but she loved it. The noise and activity was a pleasant change after the room had so long been deserted. And anyway, she delighted in socializing with the guests. At that thought she glanced at Kristoff, Anna knew he wasn't a huge fan of being around so many people, but in the past year he had gotten a lot better at attending these social activities and it seemed to her like he had even started enjoying them. Looking at him now, she saw him smiling and shaking hands, exchanging jokes with the men of the town, and kneeling down to greet the children.

The people of Arendelle had at first been a little taken aback with his presence next to the Queen and Princess at these sorts of formal events starting a year ago, but everyone had gotten used to it quickly and now most people addressed him as 'Sir Kristoff'. It was a title, she thought with some amusement, that he would rather do without. He wasn't very big on formalities, having been raised by a tribe of trolls, but Anna was pretty sure he was starting to get used to it.

For her, she was just happy that everyone seemed to be having a good time. She was certainly enjoying speaking to everyone, and though all the attention was a change she was still growing accustomed too, it wasn't a bad one.

On her other side, Elsa stood smiling and nodding, ushering people into the hall with a grace Anna knew she would never possess. Despite her previous concerns, Anna thought she looked calm and collected in front of everyone. She was happy for that, because her sister had been through a lot and certainly deserved the chance to mingle with her people without fear of rejection.

Finally, everyone was inside and they all took their seats, it was just as well too, because it had just begun to rain. Elsa sat at the head table, on a modest chair sculpted from her ice. Anna sat immediately to her left with Kristoff next to her, and on Elsa's right sat many of the other denizens of the Palace. The pleasant sound of conversation filled the room, and Elsa turned to Anna.

"So?" she asked "How are you enjoying the party?"

"It's wonderful" Anna flashed a smile towards her sister "Having people in here again is so nice. Mmm, what's that smell?" They looked at each other, and then around the room "Chocolate!" they said in unison, and both laughed together. As it subsided, Elsa spoke again "Anna, I can never thank you enough for everything you've done for me. Without you, I don't think I could ever-"

Anna raised her hand a little, as if waving away the words "Hey, what's family for? You would have done the same for me, Elsa. I mean, you spent all those years alone just to protect me, and even if it wasn't fun for either of us, I really appreciate now what you were doing. I know it must've been hard."

They smiled sadly at each other, then Kristoff leaned over "Now now, it's a party, no being serious in here!" They both looked at him and he grinned "Come on, let's go have a dance."

He led them both over to the dance floor, which was just beginning to fill with people. Anna took his hand and stepped out with him to the middle of the cleared area, Elsa's suspended flurry sparkling in the light. As they began to dance, Anna saw Elsa swirl her hands around a few times, and the snow started falling softly around them. It was mesmerizing, and a smattering of applause went up from the spectators as they saw the effect.

Kristoff and Anna danced together, talking, laughing and in general having a good time. The evening wore on, and Elsa was asked out on to the floor by a few of the nobleman. Anna saw her graciously accept each time, and winked at her as they passed, she smiled back. She was glad Elsa was having a good time, and said as much to Kristoff.

He stole a glance at her, who was currently socializing with a group of people on the other end of the room. "She looks a lot better now than she did earlier, I think once the whole thing got started she forgot to be nervous." He laughed "I know what that's like."

"I think you're right, she's so calm and collected most of the time, just like our father used to be. I think she got all of his charm, and I got my mother's energy. It's funny how we're both so similar and different at the same time."

"Yeah" he joked "Like how you both love chocolate, but she has ice magic and you got gifted with an incredible amount of stubbornness."

"_I _call it persistence, and it's an attribute that's served me well." She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Like the time you tried to climb the North Mountain, and made it about 5 feet up? I must admit that _was _rather impressive." They did a quick spin as the music changed key "Or how about when you threw the snowball at your sister's giant snow golem?"

"That wasn't persistence, _that _was frustration."

Kristoff laughed "I see" he looked around "by the way, where's Olaf?"

"Oh he's off with the kids, he loves playing with them just as much as they love being with him. I'm sure they're all having a great time."

As the song ended, Anna pulled Kristoff with her off the dance floor "Come on, it's almost time for the speech, Elsa said she wanted us with her."

"She's going to be fine" Kristoff assured her "She might have a little stage fright, but she'll get over it quickly, the people love her."

"I know, I know, but sometimes I think _she _doesn't know that, no matter how many times she's told." Anna rolled her eyes "My sister can be just as persistent as I am, sometimes."

"Stubborn, you mean?"

"Very funny."

* * *

Elsa nodded her thanks to Anna and Kristoff as they took their places, a little off to her side. She appreciated the support they were giving her, hopefully it'd be enough to help her get through this. Then again, the evening had been enjoyable enough so far.

She tapped her spoon on her glass a few times, and the sound rang out over the murmur of conversation. A few moments later, silence fell and she rose from her icy chair to her feet. Forcing a smile onto her face, she surveyed the gathering. There were at least a few hundred people in the room, and all of them were looking up at her expectantly. She wished they would stop staring at her like that, but she managed to fight down her anxiety enough to start.

"People of Arendelle" she began, this was just as hard as she thought it would be, "thank you for coming here tonight to celebrate the one year anniversary of my coronation, and I hope all of you are having a wonderful time." She smiled again, this time it felt more natural. Beside her, Anna nodded her encouragement. "But tonight" she continued "is also about celebrating the people of this kingdom, those who have put their heart and soul into making Arendelle what it is." She gestured to one of the portraits on the wall "My father once told me that he believed Arendelle to be the most beautiful kingdom in the land. Not just because of our city, or the mountains, but because of the people. You all make this the wonderful nation that it is." She paused for a moment before finishing "Thank you all." She sat down amidst polite applause from the crowd, and the party resumed.

"Well that wasn't so hard now was it?" Anna was at her side with Kristoff.

"I think you did a good job Elsa, short and sweet." He added.

"Thank you both, but I know it was barely adequate compared to the inspiring public addresses our father used to give, Anna." She looked at them with a hint of a smile "But I appreciate it."

"You were just a little nervous" Kristoff said wisely "I'm sure you'll get used to it."

"Yeah! And if you don't we can get Kristoff to fill in for you!"

"Well aren't _you _the funny one now."

Elsa smiled as they laughed, and was about to ask how they really felt it had gone when an earsplitting CRACK echoed through the room as lightning flashed outside the windows. The room shook, and everyone paused, peering outside nervously.

"That was _really_ loud" Anna commented, rubbing her ears. Kristoff was already jogging for the door, with Elsa close behind "That sounded like it could have struck the town, we'd better check to make sure everything's Ok." He called back to her and Anna.

The doors flung open on the far end of the room and a guard rushed inside, and looked relieved to see Elsa already heading towards him. "Your Majesty!" He called "Lightning struck the roof, part of it caught ablaze! We're trying to get men up there now."

"Everyone stay here!" Elsa yelled, and everyone turned to look at her "You'll be safe here!" The Great Hall was reinforced with stone, and no fire was going to damage it. There were nods and general noises of ascent, but Elsa was already running for the door. She turned to the guards on her way out "Make sure the rest of the palace is empty" she commanded "there may be people upstairs who don't know yet!" With that, she turned and sprinted out the door into the rain, closely followed by Kristoff, Anna, and various others who perhaps wanted to see what The Queen was about to do.

Wind surged against Elsa, threatening to knock her over as rain pelted down. Shielding her eyes with her arm, she looked up at the roof of the Palace. Sure enough, parts of the wood were ablaze. It was small for the moment, but threatened to spread quickly.

"Maybe the rain will put it out!" Shouted Kristoff over the howling wind "It looks pretty small!"

"It might be inside already!" Anna called to Kristoff.

"We can't risk that!" Elsa said "I'm going up to find out!"

Before they could ask what she meant, she reached down to the power inside her and _pushed_, raising her arms above her head. A pillar of ice rose out of the ground under her, lifting her high into the air next to the Palace. As she drew level with the roof, she lowered her arms and the ascent slowed to a stop. She glanced down, considering only for a moment how precarious her position was.

The fire didn't look too bad yet, and it was sputtering in the rain, but it wasn't going out. With a deep breath, Elsa thrust her left arm forward and a beam of ice shot out of her hand, she swept it back and forth across the flames, chilling each one until they were extinguished.

It took only a minute or so, but with the rain pouring down and the wind threatening to push her off the top of her narrow platform, it felt like forever. Finally, she eased the flow of power until it stopped completely. The roof was dark once more, spotted with crystalized ice where the fires had once been. Luckily, all of the damage seemed to be all superficial. She sighed in relief.

With the immediate danger gone she now felt very aware of how soaked she was, and how close the wind was coming to blowing her off her conjuration. Before anything unfortunate could happen, she quickly lowered herself back to the ground, dispersing the ice she stood on as she went. It was only as she neared the ground that she noticed the crowd of loudly cheering, clapping, and waving people beneath her.

**A/N Please review! I value all constructive feedback, especially when it comes to writing the characters, well, IN character. I think I'm doing a good job, but if anyone has tips I'd appreciate it.**

**Also, I'd just like to point out how awesome Elsa is. She stood on top of a pillar of ice in a thunderstorm, putting out a fire caused by a lighting strike with her magical powers. Like, come on! How much better does it get?**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N This is a short one, but the following one's are shaping up to be longer. Enjoy!**

Justin and Nite rode through the twilight. Unfortunately, the storm had picked up again and they had lost their bearings. He thought he was at least heading in the general direction of Arendelle, but he wasn't about to go much further before he found out where they were in case he was wrong.

Finally, exhausted, they stopped. Justin dismounted and he and Nite stumbled over to a tree, using it to shield them from the wind and rain. He had no idea what that _thing _in the cave had been, but he did know it was bad news. He had to inform Queen Elsa: if there was a dangerous creature of some kind in the kingdom, she had to know as soon as possible.

He rubbed Nite's nose "Good boy" he murmured "Thanks for getting me out of there." In response, Nite laid his long head on Justin's shoulder, and rubbed him gently. Twilight faded into night as they huddled together against the tree, and Justin resigned himself to the fact that they weren't going anywhere until morning.

As the darkness pressed in around them, he was reminded once again of those shadowy tendrils. They had had an aura of malevolence about them, and whatever that thing was, it was dangerous. He knew he'd gotten lucky, without Nite there was no way he would have gotten away. He swelled with gratitude towards his friend, and rested his head comfortably against the horse. Despite the wind and rain falling around them, he felt his eyes close and he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

(5 Days Earlier)

Elsa was relieved, it turned out that the fire hadn't burned all the way through the roof, and no major damage had been done. There would have to be repairs, but they were relatively minor compared to what she had been afraid of. She sat in her room, exhausted from the day of climbing all over the roof with the building inspectors.

Of course, they had protested her presence. The Palace roof top was no place for a Queen, they said, she shouldn't exert herself so much, especially after the exciting events of the thunderstorm. She had refused to be persuaded, however, for she felt that if she was going to ask her subjects to repair her home, the least she could do was help them out. While she still felt uncomfortable ruling, and completely underprepared to manage the kingdom, she at least knew no ruler should ask her people to do something that she herself would not. Her father had taught her that much, and if the Arendelle's love of their former King was anything to go off of, his was an example she would be wise to follow.

There was a knock on her door, and Elsa walked over to open it. Kristoff stood in the entryway, and she motioned him inside, leaving the door open. She lived in a different room than she had during her childhood, one just down the hall from Anna. Despite overcoming all the obstacles life had thrown at her, living in that room for any longer had been too depressing a prospect to think about. So shortly after the events following her coronation she had recruited one of her servants, Kai, to help her move her belongings so she could be closer to her sister. They were never going to be separated again.

Kristoff stumped across her room and sat himself down in a chair. "You're the talk of the kingdom, Elsa." he said "I was just down in the town, and everywhere I went people were telling the tale of their Queen's bravery." Elsa opened her mouth to say something, but stopped as he continued. "They didn't even embellish anything! Well honestly it would be pretty hard to, you lifted yourself on a _tower of ice_ to the roof and put out the fires all by yourself. It was pretty impressive."

Elsa was surprised, she hadn't felt like she had been doing anything excessively brave or heroic. "I was just trying to do my best to help, I didn't mean to show off." She said, a little defensively.

Kristoff waved her comment away with a sweeping gesture as if he could physically brush away her comment. "That's not what I meant, they're impressed with you. Proud, too. I know you feel a little nervous sometimes, and you're still getting used to being Queen, so I thought you would like to know how your people felt." He smiled slightly at her.

"Oh, thanks Kristoff." She smiled back at him "It's really not the same thing though, my powers can't help me rule, and I can't master it the same way I did with them." She sighed, sinking back onto the side of her bed "And if the people make me out to be some kind of hero, it will be even harder to live up to their expectations."

"Elsa, no one is expecting miracles from you." Kristoff replied after a moment's pause "I know it's not the same thing, but look at what you were able to do when you didn't spend time doubting yourself. You" he pointed at her for emphasis "are more than capable, you just don't know it yet. "

Elsa got up and walked over to the window, looking out over the fjord. After a moment, she turned to him "Thank you for all the help you've been this past year, Kristoff. You and Anna have been here encouraging me the whole time, and I do feel better about it than I used to. It will just take time, I'm sure."

"Hey, what are friends for?" Kristoff got up as well, and the two of them walked out of the room into the hallway. Before they could take more than a few steps, however-

"Elsa! Kristoff!" Elsa turned to see Anna running down towards them, followed by a very flustered looking butler.

"What is it?" she asked, a little concerned.

"Well, um…" Anna's voice trailed off, and she looked as if she were trying to hold back from laughing.

"Excuse me, your majesty," interjected the butler "but the snowman, Olaf, has somehow gotten himself stuck on top of your chandelier in the Great Hall. We don't know how to get him down."

The hallway rang with Elsa, Kristoff and Anna's laughter, as the butler watched on with a little disapproval towards such a frivolous attitude directed at such serious Palace affairs.

"How did he manage to do _that_?" asked Kristoff, grinning broadly, the butler just shook his head sadly.

"It's Ok, Ralph." Elsa finally said once she was calm enough. "Come on, let's go get him down." Still laughing a little, the trio and the butler made their way downstairs.

* * *

(Present Day)

Justin knew where he was now, and he didn't like it. The tall black haired young man had awoken near dawn to find the storm had finally ceased pounding the mountain, which he had been very happy to discover. This also finally gave him a chance to get his bearings, so he and Nite had set off to find high ground. After an hour or so of searching for landmarks and using the mountain behind them as a guide, Justin had finally come up with a decent approximation. The results were less than encouraging.

It seemed that, in their flight for safety, what he had thought was a southern course (which would take them back to Arendelle) had instead taken them west. Quite a ways west too, by the looks of it, and this meant that they still had a long way to go. It would take them at least the entire day, and that was if everything broke their way. After the events of the previous day, Justin wasn't very hopeful on that front. Even worse, the sky above was still an ominous shade of grey, warning that the reprieve they had been granted from the storm would almost certainly be temporary.

So they had set off, and he and Nite were a little more than two hours into their journey when the rain began to fall once more. Fortunately, it was fairly light and Justin could live with it. "Come on boy," he said encouragingly to Nite "we'll be back in Arendelle by nightfall, and you can have a good long rest." _Of course_, Justin thought wryly, _that's if nothing_ else_ goes wrong on this trip_. He wasn't a pessimist, but this whole sequence of events was beginning to get absurd. _Actually, _he amended, _it began to get absurd when a physical manifestation of Darkness attacked me, but that's beside the point._

* * *

(3 Days Earlier)

Elsa had insisted upon helping in the restoration of the palace roof. Well, as much as a Queen ever has to insist upon anything. What actually happened was closer to her announcing to the Palace workers that she would be accompanying them, and refusing to listen to anyone saying that it wasn't the sort of job Queens, or Kings for that matter, were expected to do. "It's my home as much as yours" she had said "so I'm going to do my part." She also felt that this was one way she _did_ feel comfortable helping out, and working with the men and women on the Palace roof made her feel less alienated from her kingdom's people.

So she now found herself using a block of ice she had created to hold a large wooden beam still while it was being hammered into place. Her powers, she considered, certainly had many uses. In fact she was starting to enjoy herself, for when she was working this closely with the men under her command, she didn't feel as nervous. It helped that Kristoff and Anna had come along for the day's work too. Kristoff had experience with this kind of work, so he had offered his experience immediately, and Anna had decided to come as a show of solidarity, helping out wherever she could. At first it had caught the workers off guard to have people of such importance assisting them with such a mundane task, but they had gotten over their surprise quickly.

"There, that one's done," Kristoff announced, giving the beam a solid _thump_ to test its sturdiness. It didn't budge an inch, and Elsa waved her hand dispersing the ice under it.

"What's next?" asked Anna, who was twirling around a hammer in her hand, and then "Whoops!" as it slipped from her grasp and clattered to the ground "um, no one saw that, right?"

"How a Princess became so clumsy, I'll never know." said Kristoff with a grin "You wouldn't catch Elsa throwing tools around like that."

"I didn't throw it, I was, uh, testing gravity." everyone stared at her, and Anna jumped. "See? Working fine, no need to worry."

"So," said Kristoff, rolling his eyes and turning back to the beams around them "we're pretty much done with the heavy lifting, all that's left is to replace the roof tiles." The workers nodded and moved off towards the indicated area. "Come on you two," he continued to Elsa and Anna "we have to get these down from here." He gestured to the pile of damaged wood that had been removed, and began to pick some up.

"Wait, here you go." Elsa said, and froze the floor under the pile "Now push." Anna and Kristoff pushed from the back, and slid the beams forward as Elsa walked backwards, covering the ground in front of them with ice and thawing the wooden boards behind them. In this fashion, they eventually got the pile safely out of the way so it could be dealt with later.

Afterwards, they headed back to check on the progress of everyone else. They were just finishing as Elsa walked up. One of the workers, she thought his name was George, looked up at her from his work. "Thank you for the help, my Lady" he said gratefully "you saved us a lot of time today." As they finished and walked out, many of the others said the same, and she smiled and nodded her appreciation as they filed off.

A little while later, after a nice bath to clean up after the day's work, Elsa walked back to her room. She felt good about today, they had fixed the roof, she hadn't almost had a nervous breakdown, and she'd gotten to spend time with Anna and Kristoff. _All in all_ she thought with a smile as she got ready to go down to dinner, _a good day_.

* * *

Meanwhile, Anna was trying to find chocolate. _Where _is _it, _she thought despairingly as she looked around the kitchen _there has to be some here somewhere. _But although she searched from top to bottom, she couldn't find any. It was beyond depressing. _Nothing for it_ she thought _I'll just have to go down to town and buy some_. With that in mind, she set off for the front door at a trot.

The trip down to the shop was uneventful, but Anna made sure to pause to appreciate how pretty Arendelle was at this time of year. It was the height of summer, the flowers were in full bloom, birds chirped merrily in the trees and the fjord gleamed in the sun. Of course, Arendelle was beautiful year round, but it seemed especially so this summer. It was as if the land were trying to make up for the brief period of ice it had endured the previous summer.

Anna wound her way through the streets, and wound up in a little shop. "Hello Princess Anna," said the women behind the counter with a smile "the usual, today?"

"Yes, thank you." She smiled back, then thought of Elsa and Kristoff, she should get something for them too. And so a little while later she was on her way back to the Palace, laden with several small boxes.

As soon as she got pack she ran to Elsa's door and knocked, balancing the boxed between her hip and one hand. "Hurry up Elsa, I've got something for you!" As soon as her sister opened the door she bounced in "Here you go, your favorite." She held out one of the boxes to Elsa, who smiled and shook her head.

"I should've known that's where you were when I didn't see you at dinner." She laughed, taking the proffered box "Thank you, Anna!" She caught a whiff of it as she set it down on the table. "Mmm, smells delicious."

Anna sat down on the bed, popping some of her own chocolate into her mouth "Enjoy your day today sis?"

"I did, it went well. I'm starting to find that keeping busy, and working hands on keeps me from thinking about, well you know." she gestured, and Anna nodded. "I know it'll take time for me to feel comfortable with this-" she gestured again, this time at the tiara on her head "but I'm getting there, I think."

"I'm sure you are" Anna reassured her "and you've got me and Kristoff here to help, too." She smiled at her sister, who smiled back again.

"Thanks Anna, you're the best."

**A/N Thoughts are now going to be italicized for** **the sake of clarity. **

**If this seems like filler to you, don't worry! We've got loads of action coming up, but I really want to make Elsa's inner struggle with accepting her role as responsible for the kingdom as real as possible. I hope I'm conveying her feelings well, she's still overwhelmed at being expected to rule the kingdom. Anna and Kristoff help, of course, but this is Elsa's burden, it's Elsa's journey (see what I did there? Title drop!) **

**But the two stories are converging, the time between them is getting smaller. I think our two timelines are going to meet finally next time, isn't it exciting? What do you think of this method of story telling?**

**Please, please, please take the time to fill out a review. I need to know how I'm doing and what my readers think. The more reviews I have, the more incentive I'll have to pump these chapters out quicker too! So everyone wins if you fill one out.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N I realize that Elsa ruled the kingdom for a few years prior to the events of the film. However, in my opinion there was not too much an underage Queen can do when she's staying as isolated as she was. For this fic, we're assuming the kingdom was fairly autonomous during that time period, though certainly she had some royal duties to preform they did not amount to what she is expected to be doing now.**

Wolves! He had first heard them just a few minutes ago, and now they were hot on his and Nite's tails. He glanced around as they continued to navigate the forest, and counted three pursuers. _They must have been forced off the mountain in the storm last night_ he thought _they aren't usually this aggressive._ Still, he was confident in Nite's ability to out run them. The rain that had been falling earlier hadn't lasted long at all, and Justin hoped it wouldn't resume for just a little longer: there wasn't far left to go.

Justin turned back around and ducked quickly, his head barely missing the low hanging tree limb as they shot past. He immediately resolved to pay more attention to where Nite was going, that could have ended up _very _badly for him.

They continued their mad dash through the forest, and all was going well (as well as anything can go when you have wolves chasing you, that is) until they found themselves faced with a hill far too steep to ride up. Nite reared to a halt to stop himself from galloping into the veritable wall in front of them, and Justin quickly glanced both ways and decided. "Left!" He yelled, and steered Nite towards what looked like the easier of the two paths available to them.

Unfortunately, the brief stall was all their pursuers needed to close the distance. A snarling wolf leapt through the air at Justin, and he sent it packing with a quick kick. It went sprawling on the ground, and tripped up the second one. Their fading howls told him that they were falling behind quickly now, and he started to feel a bit of relief. Heart pounding with adrenaline, Justin spurred Nite onwards through the forest.

The third wolf had been a bit smarter than its brethren, it had circled around so it was now in front of the pair, barring their path. Unbidden by his rider, Nite lowered his head and charged at it. The wolf was knocked aside like a bowling pin by the stampeding horse, and as they continued on through the fading evening light Justin heard the sounds of the wolf's backing off, probably to look for easier prey.

After he was sure they weren't being followed anymore, Justin pulled Nite to a stop in a shady clearing and they both had a breather. That had been too close. He dismounted and checked his steed for any signs of injury, but luckily they had both escaped unscathed. He sat down against a tree and rubbed his forehead softly with his hand, they could start again in a few minutes, he thought, _we just need to catch our breath._

Vaguely, he wondered if anyone was ever going to believe any of this had actually happened, it was hard for him to believe himself. First, a malevolent being made of darkness residing in a mountain cave had attacked him, then he and Nite had gotten lost in a violent storm. Not only that, but after they had finally figured out where they were they had been almost run down by wolves.

_All of this_ he thought to himself _and not scratch to show for it on either of us. They're going to think I'm crazy. _He rolled his eyes, he could deal with skepticism. All he needed was for someone to give him the benefit of the doubt long enough to step inside that cavern for a minute, he had a feeling all that would clear it up _real _quick. Besides, being one of the Royal Messengers had to count for something, right?

In the distance he heard a soft rumble of thunder. He put his head in his hands and groaned loudly to himself as the rain began falling once more.

* * *

(The Previous Night, 1 AM)

A shaft of moonlight filtered through the window, splaying across the room and onto Elsa's sleeping form. She lay on her bed, chest rising and falling rhythmically in time with her steady breathing. It was a calm night in Arendelle, and the room was a sanctuary of undisturbed tranquility. Elsa stirred briefly, a smile gracing her face as she dreamed on through the night.

Then, something changed. It was subtle, the darkness deepened in the room slightly, the moonlight's soft sheen seemed to dim. A breeze wafted through the half open window, rippling the curtains and tarnishing the stillness of the room. Elsa's soft smile slowly faded as, unbeknownst to her, the atmosphere of the room changed.

In her dream she was lying in her old bed, trying to get to sleep. Soon enough, however, a very young Anna was on top of her imploring her to come and play. Both giggling, they snuck out into the hallway and made their way downstairs, being careful not to wake anybody. "Do the magic!" cried Anna, and Elsa smiled as she conjured up snow and ice for them. Laughing with delight, little Anna ran forwards and together they built a small snowman, went skating around the hallway, and sliding down large snow slides. It was great fun, and Elsa wished it could go on forever, she was happy here.

"Catch me!" squealed Anna, and she jumped, Elsa deftly summoned a pile of snow for her to land on.

"Gotcha!" Elsa laughed.

Anna jumped "Again!" she jumped a third time, going higher and higher. Elsa had never used her magic this quickly before. "Wait!" she called out "Slow down!"

She couldn't keep up, and she slipped just as Anna jumped yet again. In desperation Elsa shot another bolt of magic as she was falling, trying to catch her sister, and missed. It hit Anna in the head, and she fell to the ground limp. "Anna!" she ran over and shook her sister gently "you're Ok Anna, I've got you…" there was no response. She was scared, why wasn't she moving? She was so cold.

"Mama, Papa!" She was yelling now, her parents could fix it, they would know how. The doors burst open and the King and Queen of Arendelle sprinted into the hall.

"Elsa, what have you done? This is getting out of hand!" The King rushed to his daughter's side. Elsa was panicked, her Anna had to be Ok, she couldn't be gone. If she was, it would all be _her _fault. This couldn't be happening, it couldn't be…

Elsa sat bolt upright in her bed, breathing heavily, covered in sweat. _It was just a dream _she thought, after a brief moment of disorientation, _Anna is Ok, she's fine._ Only it hadn't been just a dream. All of that had happened, she remembered it vividly. Just as she remembered her their panicked flight to the trolls to heal her, resulting in the beginning of their years of isolation and loneliness.

Elsa bit her lip hard. She still thought about that night sometimes, about how she would never have forgiven herself if Anna hadn't made it. It had been her fault she'd hurt her in the first place. She blinked back tears just thinking about it, and then shook her head at herself. Some excuse for a Queen she was, crying to herself after a bad dream in the dead of night. She was supposed to be responsible for the entire kingdom, and yet she couldn't even face her own past.

Slowly, she got up and walked to the bathroom, feeling her way around the furniture in the dark room. Elsa walked to the sink and stared at her reflection in the mirror illuminated by the sputtering light of a dying candle. _I look awful_ she thought, her hair was a mess and her forehead beaded with perspiration. She tasted a bit of blood and was shocked to realize she was still biting her lip, _hard_.

_Get a hold of yourself!_ She commanded _You're supposed to be the Queen of Arendelle!_ She vaguely wondered if people would still think she was the dashing hero they apparently said she was if they knew she woke up in the middle of the night from nightmares. She'd had a few in the past, but they hadn't been this bad before, and Elsa supposed that the increase in severity was due to her own mental strain. Not that the knowledge helped her, if anything it made her feel worse. Now she couldn't control her feelings either.

The young women filled the sink up with water, and splashed some in her face. The sweat rinsed off and she felt a bit better, at least she was thinking more clearly now. _I can't let a dream have his kind of effect on. I made mistakes, but Anna is fine. Being a Queen means not letting your emotions interfere with your thoughts._ She told herself this last bit several times until she started to believe it. She just had to deal with it. Of course she didn't necessarily have to deal with it alone, and Elsa resolved to find either Anna or Kristoff as soon as she could the next day. They seemed to always know just what to say to cheer her up, and their advice was good.

She let the water drain, and looked up at her reflection once more. The person who peered back seemed a bit less worried looking, and a little more regal. It was a start, at least. Elsa slowly made her way back to her bed and slid under the covers once more. She shifted around a few minutes, trying to get comfortable, and wondered if she would ever truly be able to move past that night. Her final thoughts before drifting back off to sleep were of Anna, her beloved sister.

Had Elsa not been so distracted, she may have noticed the room had been just a bit dimmer and more subdued than it should have been, even at this hour. As it was, no one noticed the darkness recede slightly as the atmosphere in her bedroom returned to normal.

* * *

(Later That Day)

Kristoff could only go so long without seeing Sven, so he headed down to the stables the first chance he got during the day. The midday sun was at its zenith, and as he walked down the path to the stables Kristoff wished it was a bit colder. Not that he wasn't happy in Arendelle, he had Anna, Sven, and Elsa for company, the food was amazing too. Despite all that he was used to the cold of the mountains, and sometimes he felt it'd be nice if Elsa could cool it down a bit with a wave of her hand. _Actually, _he thought, _that might not go down so well with everyone after she froze the whole kingdom last year._

Kristoff grinned at that thought: He would never have met Anna if Elsa hadn't run away, and he wouldn't be nearly as happy as he was now. As it was, his only real complaint was that he couldn't see Sven as much as he wanted too. The butler had flatly refused to let the reindeer inside the Palace, and had seemed shocked when he'd learned Kristoff had intended to stay in the same room as him.

Kristoff himself couldn't see why that was such a big deal, but Anna had compromised, and now Sven enjoyed a spacious room in the Royal Stables. It was better than nothing and he could visit as often as he had time for, so Kristoff was Ok with the arrangement. Every once in a while, however, he still stayed the night with Sven, reclining on some bales of hay and singing both parts of the duets he composed for them.

"Hey buddy, how ya doing?" he said as he walked in, and Sven trotted up to him with what Kristoff could have sworn was the reindeer's approximation of a smile. "Want to go for a ride? Anna's busy in town today, so I've got lots of time." At that Sven nodded vigorously, and together they went outside. Kristoff swung a leg over his friend and they were off, riding across the bridge into town, through the streets, then into the hills.

It was late afternoon by the time they returned, and they were both as happy as they were covered in sweat. As Kristoff led Sven back into the stables, he heard a voice behind him. "Looks like you two had a good time."

He turned to see Elsa smiling at him; he smiled back and wiped some of the perspiration off his brow. "Yea, we did. You should ride more often Elsa, it's very relaxing."

"You know, maybe I should." She replied thoughtfully "When I was younger horses never liked me, I think it was because I would accidently freeze their manes when I'd get scared." She laughed, and Kristoff chuckled too. "Now that I don't have to worry about it anymore, I think I'll try and get back into it." She paused for a moment, and Kristoff noticed her smile fade a bit. "Kristoff, do you have a minute to talk?"

"Sure," he replied without hesitation "what do you need?" Together they made their way back towards the Palace proper, and it was several moments before Elsa responded.

"I had a really bad dream last night," she began "about the night Anna and I were kids, and I hit her with my powers." Her voice trailed off and Kristoff nodded. He'd heard the story, of course, and they'd all been surprised to find out that Kristoff had been present with the trolls the very same night Anna had been healed. The world was sure full of strange coincidences.

Elsa went on to explain everything in her dream including her strong sense of guilt, both towards Anna for injuring her, and the Kingdom for not being strong enough to overcome those feelings. "I feel weak," she finished "it's been years, and I still can't get it out of my head sometimes."

"Elsa, that's because you're human like the rest of us. People make mistakes and they learn from them. Sometimes you regret those mistakes, that's normal, but don't let this make you feel like you're weak." He patted her shoulder. "Anna doesn't hold it against you, she understands what you had to go through to control your powers."

"I know she does, but if I feel like this about something I did so long ago, how am I ever going to be able to make difficult decisions as Queen? I don't want anyone to get hurt, Kristoff, I don't want to let my people down."

"Elsa, you've been ruling for years already and nothing bad has happened." He responded diplomatically

"I froze the kingdom, remember?" She pointed out.

"And you fixed it as soon as you were able to. Besides, you didn't even know you'd done it." He reminded her

"And before that, I hardly had to do anything anyway, no one ever came to the Palace, and the few things I _did _have to do were pretty trivial. Arendelle practically ran itself. Now I'm a public figure with responsibilities-"

"Look, Elsa" he cut her off with a raised hand. They were in front of his room now, and he opened the door for her. "If you're looking for problems with yourself you're always going to find them, but the truth is you are your own harshest critic. This is true for most people, we judge ourselves the most. No one faults you for anything you've been saying, except yourself." He offered her a chair and continued "I know why you feel that way, you have a lot of responsibility and a difficult past, but you have to give yourself a chance."

Elsa declined the chair, and instead embraced him. "Thanks Kristoff, I think I needed that."

He patted her on the back "Any time. You're as stubborn as your sister, you know that?"

"Persistent, you mean. It's a quality, not a fault." Suddenly she grinned "In me at least."

Kristoff stared at her, and then burst out laughing. Elsa shot him a quizzical look. "Your sister said pretty much the exact same thing to me the other night." He said in explanation. "It's amazing how different and similar you are at the same time."

He laughed again and this time she joined in. Afterwards, Kristoff was relieved when he looked at her and saw, for the time being at least, that Elsa seemed relaxed again.

* * *

(Present Day)

Justin was tired. He could feel Nite slowing down beneath him as the day's events caught up to them both. It was late evening now and the sun had almost set, the darkness broken only by the shafts of waning light filtering through the trees. They were almost there, it couldn't be far now. Nite stumbled over something in the near darkness, barely catching himself, and Justin patted his neck "Easy boy, you've done a good job, we're almost back. " he soothed "You can rest soon."

They had only stopped briefly in their journey today, and hadn't slept since the storm the previous night. It was wearing them down, but they were fit and hardened travelers. _It'll take more than a few tough days to stop us_ Justin thought exuberantly _even the rain is hardly slowing us down now._ It was true, in the thick forest the rain wasn't as much of a hindrance, and so they trudged on through the evenings last light.

At long last, Justin and Nite crested a hill and saw the Kingdom of Arendelle splayed out beneath him, looking like an extravagant toy in the distance. He was on the near side of the fjord to the Palace, and was looking down upon the flickering lights of the town. He had thought he was going to feel excited, triumphant even, but in the end all he felt was relief. After a few moments of simply surveying the vista before him, he spurred his steed onwards and together they made their way down the hills.

It was truly night by the time Justin rode onto the street and into town, and a brief flash of lightning threw the surrounding buildings into sharp relief. Rain fell down hard and fast, pooling on the cobblestone as Nite splashed through it. Together they quickly travelled through the streets and across the bridge. The rain continued to fall and Justin wiped a strand of damp hair out of his eye as they stopped just short of the Palace gate.

Justin hopped down to the ground and banged on the wood three times. After a moment, a guard pulled it open a crack. "Declare yourself." came the gruff voice.

"Royal Messenger Justin Hone, I must see the Queen at once."

**A/N Here we go, our stories converge at long last. What do you think? If you have any comments please leave a review! A quick thank you to everyone who has already, I appreciate it.**


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